Information processing apparatus, control method thereof, and storage medium for controlling an image forming apparatus

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus obtains capability information of a printing apparatus, wherein the capability information is including a predetermined text and a sheet type that the printing apparatus can use in printing; displays, in a display unit, a first option that the printing apparatus carries out printing for a sheet of a selected sheet type, based on the predetermined text included in the capability information, and displays a second option that the printing apparatus carries out printing for a sheet of the sheet type included in the capability information based on the sheet type included in the capability information; generates a print job including the option set through the screen; and sends the generated print job to the printing apparatus.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/749,131, filed on Jan. 22, 2020, which claims the benefit of andpriority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-009775, filed on Jan.23, 2019 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-169244, filed on Sep.18, 2019, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein intheir entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, acontrol method thereof, and a storage medium.

Description of the Related Art

Printing apparatuses that receive print data from an informationprocessing apparatus over a network and form an image on a sheet basedon the received print data have been known for some time. Additionally,an information processing apparatus that generates print data to send toa printing apparatus using a printer driver (or a printing application)designed for using different individual printing apparatuses has alsobeen known for some time.

In recent years, a technique is known in which print data is generatedwithout using a printer driver (or printing application) designed forusing individual printing apparatuses. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2017-113904 proposes a print client that prints based on a networkprotocol for causing a printing apparatus to execute a print (theInternet Printing Protocol, or IPP). The print client implements theprinting process by having the printing apparatus and the informationprocessing apparatus communicate in accordance with an IPP communicationprocedure.

However, this conventional technique has the following issue. When theinformation processing apparatus generates print data using a genericprinting service such as IPP, the information processing apparatusgenerates a printing settings screen based on capability information ofthe printing apparatus. For example, if the printing apparatus iscapable of selecting the type of sheet for printing, i.e., plain paper,thin paper, or thick paper, the information processing apparatusdisplays, in accordance with the capability information of the printingapparatus, a settings screen for selecting the type of sheet, whichenables the user to make a selection.

However, use cases for printing include not only cases where printing iscarried out having designated the type of sheet, but also cases whereprinting is to be carried out using a sheet fed in the printingapparatus in advance, without designating the type of sheet.

There are some printing apparatuses which have functions for printingonto a sheet fed in a sheet feed unit, regardless of the type of sheet.However, past printing apparatuses have only communicated the type ofsheet they can handle to the information processing apparatus. As such,the information processing apparatus cannot know whether or not theprinting apparatus has a function for printing onto the sheet fed in thesheet feed unit regardless of the type of the sheet, and thus the userhas not been able to make settings for using that function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention enables an information processing apparatus toconfigure for the use of that function in an information processingapparatus in a case where a printing apparatus is capable of printingonto any desired type of sheet.

One aspect of the present invention provides an information processingapparatus comprising: a memory device that stores a set of instructions;and at least one processor that executes the set of instructions to:obtain capability information of a printing apparatus, wherein thecapability information is including a predetermined text and a sheettype that the printing apparatus can use in printing; display, in adisplay unit, a first option that the printing apparatus carries outprinting for a sheet of a selected sheet type, based on thepredetermined text included in the capability information, and display asecond option that the printing apparatus carries out printing for asheet of the sheet type included in the capability information based onthe sheet type included in the capability information; generate a printjob including the option set through the screen; and send the generatedprint job to the printing apparatus.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a control method for aninformation processing apparatus, the method comprising: obtainingcapability information of a printing apparatus, wherein the capabilityinformation is including a predetermined text and a sheet type that theprinting apparatus can use in printing; displaying a first option thatthe printing apparatus carries out printing for a sheet of a selectedsheet type, based on the predetermined text included in the capabilityinformation, and display a second option that the printing apparatuscarries out printing for a sheet of the sheet type included in thecapability information based on the sheet type included in thecapability information obtained in the obtaining; generating a print jobincluding the option set through the screen; and sending the print jobgenerated in the generating to the printing apparatus.

Still another aspect of the present invention provides a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing acomputer to execute each step of a control method for an informationprocessing apparatus, the control method comprising: obtainingcapability information of a printing apparatus, wherein the capabilityinformation is including a predetermined text and a sheet type that theprinting apparatus can use in printing; displaying a first option thatthe printing apparatus carries out printing for a sheet of a selectedsheet type, based on the predetermined text included in the capabilityinformation, and display a second option that the printing apparatuscarries out printing for a sheet of the sheet type included in thecapability information based on the sheet type included in thecapability information obtained in the obtaining; generating a print jobincluding the option set through the screen; and sending the print jobgenerated in the generating to the printing apparatus.

Further features of the invention will be apparent from the followingdescription of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attacheddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a printing system accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram illustrating a printing apparatusaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a software block diagram illustrating the printing apparatusaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a hardware block diagram illustrating an informationprocessing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a software block diagram illustrating the informationprocessing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sequence chart illustrating a sequence from searching for aprinting apparatus to printing, according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 7A-1 to 7A-3 are a diagram illustrating an example of a capabilityinformation notification and a print job, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating an example of a capability informationnotification and a print job, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing screenaccording to an embodiment.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts for an information processing apparatusaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for an information processing apparatus accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for a printing apparatus according to anembodiment.

FIG. 12 is a table indicating the correspondence between sheet typedisplay items and IPP according to an embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a default sheet type settings screenof a printing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for an information processing apparatus accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing screenaccording to an embodiment.

FIGS. 16A and 16B are a flowchart for an information processingapparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart for an information processing apparatus accordingto an embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in detailwith reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the relativearrangement of the components, the numerical expressions and numericalvalues set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of theinvention unless it is specifically stated otherwise.

The printing apparatus according to the present embodiment can beapplied as an image forming apparatus that forms images on a sheet usingan electrophotographic technique, such as a printing apparatus (aprinter), a copier, a multifunction peripheral (MFP), or a facsimileapparatus, as well as an image processing apparatus or an informationprocessing apparatus. Note that a “multifunction peripheral” is anapparatus having two or more of a plurality of types of functionsincluding a printing function, a scanning function, a copying function,and a facsimile function, for example. A case where the printingapparatus is a multifunction peripheral (MFP) will be described here.Additionally, the information processing apparatus according to thepresent embodiment can be applied in an apparatus capable ofcommunicating directly or indirectly with the stated printing apparatus,such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet, a smartphone, or the like.

First Embodiment System Configuration

A first embodiment of the invention will be described hereinafter.First, an example of the configuration of a printing system according tothe present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

A printing apparatus 101 and an access point (AP) 102 arecommunicatively connected to each other over a Local Area Network (LAN)100. Mobile terminals (information processing apparatuses) 103 and 104,which are tablets, laptop computers, or the like and serve as examplesof information processing apparatuses, are also communicativelyconnected to the AP 102. In the following descriptions, the tablet 103,the laptop PC 104, and so on will be referred to generally asinformation processing apparatuses. The information processingapparatuses can communicate with the printing apparatus 101 over the LAN100 via the AP 102. Although the present embodiment describes theforegoing exemplary configuration as an example of the printing system,the present invention is not limited thereto, as long as at least oneinformation processing apparatus and a printing apparatus arecommunicatively connected over a network. Additionally, the network maybe wireless or wired.

Hardware Configuration of Printing Apparatus

The hardware configuration of the printing apparatus 101 will bedescribed next with reference to FIG. 2. The printing apparatus 101 hasa printing function for printing images onto a sheet (a recordingmedium), and executes a printing process based on print data receivedover the network.

The printing apparatus 101 includes a control unit 210, an operationunit 216, a printing unit 218, and a sheet processing unit 220. Thecontrol unit 210 includes a CPU 211, ROM 212, RAM 213, storage 214, anoperation unit interface (I/F) 215, an image processing unit 222, aprinting unit I/F 217, a sheet processing unit I/F 219, and acommunication unit I/F 221.

The control unit 210, which includes the CPU (Central Processing Unit)211, comprehensively controls the overall operations of the printingapparatus 101. The CPU 211 controls printing by loading programs storedin the ROM (Read Only Memory) 212 or the storage 214 into the RAM 213and executing those programs. The ROM 212 stores control programs, aboot program, and the like that can be executed by the CPU 211. The RAM(Random Access Memory) 213 is the main storage memory of the CPU 211,and is used as a work area or a temporary storage region for loadingvarious types of control programs. The storage 214 stores print data,image data, various types of programs, and various types of settingsinformation. Although the present embodiment assumes that the storage214 is an auxiliary storage device such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) orthe like, non-volatile memory such as a Solid State Drive (SSD) may beused as well.

Note also that with the printing apparatus 101 according to the presentembodiment, it is assumed that the single CPU 211 executes therespective processes in the flowcharts described later using a singleunit of memory (the RAM 213), but a different format may be used aswell. For example, the respective processes in the flowcharts describedlater may be executed with a plurality of CPUs, RAM, ROM, and storageoperating in tandem. Some of the processes may be executed usinghardware circuits such as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit(ASIC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or the like.

The operation unit I/F 215 is an interface connecting the operation unit216 to the control unit 210. The operation unit 216 includes a displayunit, which has touch panel functionality, various types of physicalkeys, and the like, and functions as a display unit that displaysinformation, an accepting unit that accepts user instructions, and thelike. The printing unit I/F 217 connects the printing unit (a printerengine) 218 to the control unit 210. Image data, which has beengenerated by analyzing a print job received from an informationprocessing apparatus, is transferred from the control unit 210 to theprinting unit 218 via the printing unit I/F 217. The printing unit 218receives control commands and a print job to be printed via the controlunit 210, and based on that print job, prints an image onto a sheetsupplied from a sheet feed cassette. The printing unit 218 according tothe present embodiment supports at least one type of sheet that can besupplied from the sheet feed cassette. Capability information indicatingthe types of sheet the printing unit 218 can supply is communicated tothe control unit 210 via the printing unit I/F 217 in advance (e.g.,when the printing apparatus 101 is started up), and is stored in thestorage 214 or the RAM 213.

Note that the printing method of the printing unit 218 may be anelectrophotographic method, or may be an ink jet method. Anotherprinting method can be employed as well, such as a thermal transfermethod. The control unit 210 is also connected to the LAN 100 via thecommunication unit I/F 221. The communication unit I/F 221 sends imagedata, information, and the like to the information processingapparatuses on the LAN 100, receives print jobs, information, and thelike from the information processing apparatuses on the LAN 100, and soon.

The image processing unit 222 has a Raster Image Processor (RIP)function that expands a print job received over the LAN 100 andgenerates image data to be used in printing. The image processing unit222 can also carry out resolution conversion, correction processing, andthe like on the image data obtained by expanding the print job. Althoughthe present embodiment assumes that the image processing unit 222 isrealized by a hardware circuit (an ASIC, an FPGA, or the like), theconfiguration is not limited thereto. For example, the printingapparatus 101 may further include a processor for use in imageprocessing, and the image processing, the process for expansion intoprint data, and the like may be realized by that processor executing animage processing program. In this case, the flowcharts described laterare assumed to be realized by the processor and the CPU 211 working intandem. Furthermore, the configuration may be such that the imageprocessing, the process for expansion into print data, and the like arecarried out by the CPU 211 executing a program for carrying out imageprocessing. The image processing may also be carried out by combiningany of these.

The sheet processing unit I/F 219 connects the control unit 210 to thesheet processing unit 220. The sheet processing unit 220 receivescontrol commands from the control unit 210, and in accordance with thosecontrol commands, carries out post-processing on the sheet that has beenprinted onto by the printing unit 218. The post-processing includesaligning a plurality of sheets, punching holes in sheets, binding aplurality of sheets, and so on, for example.

Software Configuration of Printing Apparatus

The software configuration of the printing apparatus 101 according tothe present embodiment will be described next with reference to FIG. 3.Note that the present embodiment assumes that the function blocksillustrated in FIG. 3 are realized by the CPU 211 executing programsloaded into the RAM 213.

An IPP printing service control unit 301 obtains the capabilityinformation of the printing apparatus from an engine control unit 305via a printing control unit 311. In the present embodiment, capabilityinformation indicating the type of sheet that can be supplied from thesheet feed cassette of the printing apparatus 101 is obtained from theengine control unit 305. Accordingly, it is desirable that the enginecontrol unit 305 hold that capability information in advance, when theapparatus is shipped as a product. However, the configuration may besuch that the capability information is updated later when optionaldevices are connected, the software is updated, and so on. Thecapability information will be described in detail later.

Processing carried out when a print job is received from an externaldevice will be described next. Upon receiving a print job based on theIPP standard over the network from an information processing apparatus(the tablet 103, the laptop PC 104, or the like), the IPP printingservice control unit 301 passes the print job to a print job generatingunit 302.

Having received the print job, which itself was received from theinformation processing apparatus, via the IPP printing service controlunit 301, the print job generating unit 302 writes the print job into adata reception control unit 303, and also requests a job control unit306 to register the print job as a new job and commence the printingprocess. The print job generating unit 302 then passes print settingsinformation, which is to be applied to that print job, to a jobattribute storage unit 307.

The data reception control unit 303 is a buffer region for print jobsreceived by the print job generating unit 302, and temporarily storeseach print job in the storage 214. When the job control unit 306instructs a PDL analyzing unit 304 to carry out a PDL analysis processon the print job, the PDL analyzing unit 304 makes a request for thatprint job to the data reception control unit 303. In response, the datareception control unit 303 passes the data of that print job to the PDLanalyzing unit 304. The PDL analyzing unit 304 generates intermediaterendering data and page attributes in accordance with the PDL languagespecifications, and saves the results of this processing in a pagestorage unit 309 and a page attribute storage unit 310. The page datacreated by the PDL analyzing unit 304 is saved in the page storage unit309 and the page attribute storage unit 310 on a page-by-page basis.

The attributes stored in the job attribute storage unit 307 include“sheet type”, “number of copies”, “Nup (collective printing)”, “printedside (single-sided/double-sided) settings”, “color/black-and-whitemode”, “finishing settings”, and the like, which are set as IPP jobattributes. These are all managed in the job attribute storage unit 307in association with job IDs.

A page control unit 308 controls page analysis processing carried out bythe PDL analyzing unit 304, RIP processing carried out by a RIP controlunit 312, and printing control processing carried out by the printingcontrol unit 311. The printing control unit 311 obtains image dataalready subjected to the RIP processing from the page storage unit 309,separates the data into CMYK colors, and transfers the data to theengine control unit 305. The engine control unit 305 receives the C, M,Y, and K image data from the printing control unit 311 in units ofpages, and executes the printing process for each page by controllingthe printing unit 218.

Hardware Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus

The hardware configuration of the information processing apparatusesaccording to the present embodiment (the tablet 103, the laptop PC 104,and so on) will be described next with reference to FIG. 4. Theinformation processing apparatus according to the present embodimentincludes a control unit 400, a mouse/keyboard 409, and a touch panel408. The control unit 400 includes a CPU 401, ROM 402, RAM 403, storage404, Bluetooth (registered trademark) 405, a network I/F 406, and anoperation unit I/F 407.

The control unit 400, which includes the CPU (Central Processing Unit)401, comprehensively controls the overall operations of the informationprocessing apparatus. The CPU 401 carries out computational processes byloading programs stored in the ROM (Read Only Memory) 402 or the storage404 into the RAM 403 and executing those programs. The ROM 402 storescontrol programs, a boot program, and the like that can be executed bythe CPU 401. The RAM (Random Access Memory) 403 is the main storagememory of the CPU 401, and is used as a work area or a temporary storageregion for loading various types of control programs. The storage 404stores application data, print data, various types of programs, andvarious types of settings information. Although the present embodimentassumes that a Solid State Drive (SSD) is used as the storage 404, anHDD or the like may be used instead.

Bluetooth 405 is for connecting and using the mouse/keyboard 409, andthe network I/F 406 is for connecting to a wireless LAN or the like. Thetouch panel 408, which is connected via the operation unit I/F 407,renders images in a liquid-crystal screen and detects touch inputs madeby a user. Note also that with the information processing apparatuses103 and 104 according to the present embodiment, it is assumed that thesingle CPU 401 executes the respective processes in the flowchartsdescribed later using a single unit of memory (the RAM 403), but adifferent format may be used as well. For example, the respectiveprocesses in the flowcharts described later may be executed with aplurality of CPUs, RAM, ROM, and storage operating in tandem. Theoperation unit I/F 407 connects the touch panel 408 to the control unit400. The touch panel 408 includes a display unit, which has touchfunctionality, and functions as a display unit that displaysinformation, an accepting unit that accepts user instructions, and thelike. The control unit 400 connects to the AP 102 via the network I/F406.

Software Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus

The software configuration of the information processing apparatusesaccording to the present embodiment will be described next withreference to FIG. 5. It is assumed that the function blocks illustratedin FIG. 5 are realized by the CPU 401 executing programs loaded into theRAM 403.

A printing application 501 is an application that runs in theinformation processing apparatus, and provides typical applicationfunctionality, such as word processing or spreadsheets, to the user.Each application not only renders a GUI for user operations, but alsogenerates data for printing, through an OS rendering engine 514 providedby an operating system running in the information processing apparatus.

When the user calls a printing function through the application, theapplication calls a printing screen control unit 511. The printingapplication 501 generates page data for printing through the OSrendering engine 514, and each piece of page data generated by the OSrendering engine 514 is passed to a preview display unit 513 beforeprinting is started, and to a page generating unit 507 after printinghas been started. The printing screen control unit 511 is constituted bya print settings management unit 512 and the preview display unit 513.The print settings management unit 512 obtains the capabilityinformation of each of printing apparatuses from a printer informationmanagement unit 515, and generates a UI screen for print settings basedon the capabilities of each printing apparatus. The capabilityinformation obtained here also includes capability informationpertaining to the type of sheets the printing apparatus 101 can supply.If the printing apparatus 101 supports sheet types in the printsettings, a UI screen for sheet type settings is displayed (8200, 8300,and 8400).

An OS printing framework 502 is constituted by an IPP client controlunit 503 and a print spooler 509. The IPP client control unit 503 isconstituted by a print job generating unit 504, which generates printdata for a print job in accordance with instructions from the printingscreen control unit 511, and the printer information management unit515, which holds the capability information of the printing apparatus101 obtained from the printing apparatus 101. The print spooler 509transfers the print jobs generated by the IPP client control unit 503 tothe printing apparatus 101 in order, via a data communication controlunit 510. The printer information management unit 515 obtains capabilityinformation of the printer from the printing apparatus 101, through thedata communication control unit 510. The obtained information is alsosupplied to the printing screen control unit 511, a base methodconversion unit 505, and so on.

A job attribute generating unit 506 and the page generating unit 507commence processing in response to an instruction to generate print datareceived from the printing screen control unit 511. The job attributegenerating unit 506 generates job settings information for an IPP job inaccordance with instructions from the print settings management unit512. The page generating unit 507 obtains the page data generated by theOS rendering engine 514 according to the page order, operates in tandemwith a PDL generating unit 508 to convert that page data into PDLlanguage which can be processed by the printing apparatus 101, and sendsthe resulting data. The PDL format which can be interpreted by theprinting apparatus 101 is obtained from the printer informationmanagement unit 515.

Printing Sequence

A printing sequence according to the present embodiment, spanning fromthe searching/registration of the information processing apparatuses andthe printing apparatus 101 to the end of printing, will be describednext with reference to FIG. 6. With respect to the processing carriedout by the information processing apparatus as described below, theprocessing may be carried out by either of the tablet 103 and the laptopPC 104 as described above, or may be carried out by another informationprocessing apparatus.

In step S601, the information processing apparatus searches out theprinting apparatus 101 and makes an inquiry as to the capabilities ofthe printing apparatus (the capability information). Then, the printingapparatus 101 confirms the type of sheets that can be supplied in stepS602, and communicates the capability information, which includesinformation pertaining to the type of sheets, in step S603. The presentembodiment will primarily describe control in which the “type of sheets”serves as a predetermined printing item. This is not intended to limitthe present invention, however, and the control described hereinaftermay also be applied to other printing items as well.

Next, in step S604, the information processing apparatus receives thecapability information communicated from the printing apparatus 101, andsaves that information in the printer information management unit 515.Then, in step S605, when the user calls the printing function from anapplication in the information processing apparatus, the informationprocessing apparatus displays the printing screen for the selectedprinting apparatus 101. If information pertaining to a plurality ofprinting apparatuses has been obtained, the user may be allowed toselect one of the plurality of printing apparatuses. Here, if theprinting apparatus 101 supports sheet types, the information processingapparatus displays a screen for selecting the sheet type. In step S606,the information processing apparatus receives the print settings fromthe user, and when a print button is selected, the process moves to stepS607, where the IPP client control unit 503 generates the print data andthe print job attributes, and then sends the print data to the printingapparatus 101. The printing apparatus 101 analyzes the print data instep S608, and executes the printing process in step S609.

Capability Request and Print Job

A capability request made from the information processing apparatus tothe printing apparatus 101, and the print job, according to the presentembodiment will be described next with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B. 700indicates an example of the capability request issued from theinformation processing apparatus to the printing apparatus 101 in theaforementioned step S601. 710 indicates an example of the capabilityinformation sent from the printing apparatus 101 to the informationprocessing apparatus in step S603 in response to the capability request.720 indicates an example of a job ticket for the print job of step S607,generated by the information processing apparatus in response to thecapability notification from the printing apparatus 101. Although thepresent embodiment describes a message according to the IPP protocol asan example, another protocol may be used instead.

The capability information 710 of the printing apparatus 101 includes“media-type-supported” information, which is an example of sheet typesupport information according to IPP. The supported sheet types aredenoted on a case-by-case basis in 711 to 714. Case 1 (711) indicates anexample in which the supported sheet types for the printing apparatus101 are “auto (automatic settings)”, “stationery”,“stationery-lightweight”, and “stationery-heavyweight”. Case 2 (712)indicates an example in which the supported sheet types for the printingapparatus 101 are “stationery”, “stationery-lightweight”, and“stationery-heavyweight”. Case 3 (713) indicates an example in which thesupported sheet type of the printing apparatus 101 is only “stationery”.Case 4 (714) indicates an example in which the printing apparatus 101does not support sheet types, and thus “media-type-supported” itself isnot included. 715 indicates information of sheets fed in a sheet feedcassette of the printing apparatus 101. It can be seen that the sheetsfed in a sheet feed cassette “tray-1” have a sheet size of 210 mm×297mm, and a sheet type of “stationery-lightweight” (thin paper). If theprinting apparatus includes a plurality of sheet feed cassettes,information for each tray (each sheet feed cassette) is included.

The job tickets of the print jobs generated by the informationprocessing apparatus in response to the capability notification from theprinting apparatus 101 are denoted on a case-by-case basis in 721 to 723of the job ticket 720. Case A (721) indicates an example in which“stationery” is designated as the sheet type in the job ticket. Case B(722) indicates an example in which “auto” is designated as the sheettype in the job ticket. Case C (723) indicates an example in which thejob ticket of the print job includes no sheet type designation. Themethod for using this capability information, and the operations of theprinting apparatus 101, will be described later.

Screen Examples

An example of the printing settings screen displayed in the informationprocessing apparatus 103 (the tablet) according to the presentembodiment will be described next with reference to FIG. 8. The otherinformation processing apparatuses such as the laptop PC 104 are notintended to be limited to the screen example described hereinafter, andthe screen example described hereinafter can be changed as appropriateand applied in accordance with the display region of the display in theapparatus.

When the printing application 501 calls the printing function, aprinting settings screen 8000 is displayed by the OS. As illustrated inFIG. 8, the printing settings screen 8000 is configured including aprinting apparatus selection item, a number of copies selection item,and optional settings selection item, and a preview screen, for example.The user can select the printing apparatus to be used for the printingby selecting the part of the printing apparatus selection item indicatedby 8001 to transition to a screen 8100. When the screen 8100 isdisplayed, the information processing apparatus searches the network forprinting apparatuses, and displays only the printing apparatuses thathave responded as a list in the screen 8100. The printing apparatus 101selected by the user (“Printer(1)”) is displayed in the printingapparatus selection item field. At this time, the information processingapparatus inquires with the printing apparatus 101 selected by the useras to the capability information of the printing apparatus 101, andgenerates a settings screen 8200 for printing options 8002 in accordancewith the capability information returned by the printing apparatus 101.Note that the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example,the capability information may be received from one or morecommunication-capable printing apparatuses when the printing settingsscreen 8000 is displayed. This makes it possible to generate thesettings screens with the various selection items in advance, which inturn makes it possible to realize a user-friendly system of operations.

The information processing apparatus displays the settings screen 8200when printing options 8002 is selected by the user. Print setting itemsbased on the capability information of the printing apparatus 101, andthe values currently set, are displayed in the settings screen 8200.8301 indicates that a color mode setting item is set to a value of“color”, and 8302 indicates that a sheet type setting item is set to avalue of “automatic”. The setting values displayed in 8200 can bechanged, and a sheet type selection screen 8300 is displayed in responseto a setting change button 8303 being selected in order to change thesetting value of sheet type 8302. Note that the content in the selectionscreen displayed here changes depending on the capability informationreceived by the information processing apparatus from the printingapparatus 101.

In the selection screen 8300, the user can change the sheet typesettings by selecting one of the displayed sheet type check boxes. Theother sheet type selection screen 8400 indicates an example of aprinting apparatus 101 that does not support thin paper or thick paper.FIG. 12 indicates mapping of the sheet type support informationcommunicated using the capability information 710 of the printingapparatus 101, and sheet type names displayed in the sheet typeselection screens 8300 and 8400 in accordance therewith. 1201 indicatesvalues listed in the sheet type capability information“media-type-supported” communicated using the capability information710, and 1202 indicates the sheet type names displayed in the sheet typeselection screen 8300 in accordance with the communicated capabilityinformation. Specifically, the information processing apparatus displays“automatic” in the sheet type selection screen 8300 when “auto” has beencommunicated as the capability information, and displays “plain paper”in the selection screen 8300 when “stationery” has been communicated.“Thin paper” is displayed in the selection screen 8300 when“stationery-lightweight” has been communicated, and “thick paper” isdisplayed in the selection screen 8300 when “stationery-heavyweight” hasbeen communicated.

Processing Sequence by Information Processing Apparatus

A processing sequence carried out by the information processingapparatus according to the present embodiment will be described nextwith reference to the flowchart in FIGS. 9A and 9B. This flowchartillustrates a process leading up to the information processing apparatusdisplaying the printing settings screen 8000 and sending a print job.Although the print setting items that can be changed are limited to thesheet type in the flowchart provided here, the configuration may be suchthat other print setting items can actually be changed. The processingdescribed hereinafter is realized by, for example, the CPU 401 of theinformation processing apparatus reading out control programs, which arestored in the ROM 402 or the storage 404, into the RAM 403 and executingthose programs.

In step S901, the CPU 401 of the information processing apparatusdetermines whether or not the part indicated by the aforementioned 8001,for selecting the printing apparatus, has been selected. If the statedpart has been selected, the process moves to step S902, and if not, theprocess moves to step S907. In step S902, the CPU 401 inquires with theprinting apparatus 101 which has been selected by the user through thescreen 8100 for selecting the printing apparatus as to the capabilitiesof the printing apparatus 101. The capability inquiry is made using theIPP “Get-Printer-Attributes” request command, indicated by 700 in FIG.7A-1. The information processing apparatus then receives the capabilityinformation from the printing apparatus 101 as a response to the inquirymade in step S902. This specifically is the IPP “Get-Printer-Attributes”response command indicated by 710 in FIG. 7A-1. The process then movesto step S903.

In step S903, the CPU 401 analyzes the received capability informationof the printing apparatus 101. Then, in step S904, the CPU 401determines whether or not the printing apparatus 101 supports sheettypes, based on the analyzed capability information. Here, thedetermination as to whether or not sheet types are supported is madebased on whether or not the capability information of the printingapparatus 101 includes “media-type-supported”. “media-type-supported” isincluded if Case 1 (711) to Case 3 (713) indicated in FIG. 7A-3 havebeen received, and thus the printing apparatus 101 in question can bedetermined to support sheet types. However, “media-type-supported” isnot included if Case 4 (714) has been received, and thus the printingapparatus 101 in question can be determined to not support sheet types.The process moves to step S905 if it is determined in step S904 that theprinting apparatus 101 supports sheet types, and to step S907 if not.

In step S905, the CPU 401 adds a sheet type setting item 3802 to thesettings screen 8200, and the process moves to step S906. In step S906,the CPU 401 generates a sheet type list in the sheet type selectionscreens (8300, 8400) displayed when the sheet type setting change button8303 has been selected, after which the process moves to step S907. Theitems displayed in the sheet type list change depending on thecapability information of the printing apparatus 101. The process ofstep S906 will be described in detail using the flowchart in FIG. 10.The processing described hereinafter is realized by, for example, theCPU 401 of the information processing apparatus reading out controlprograms, which are stored in the ROM 402 or the storage 404, into theRAM 403 and executing those programs.

In step S1001, the CPU 401 adds “automatic” to the selection screen 8300for selecting the sheet type, and the process then moves to step S1002.In step S1002, the CPU 401 determines whether or not “stationery” isincluded in the “media-type-supported”, which is included in thecapability information 710 of the printing apparatus 101. The processmoves to step S1003 if “stationery” is included, and to step S1004 ifnot; in step S1003, the CPU 401 adds “plain paper” to the selectionscreen 8300, and the process then moves to step S1004.

In step S1004, the CPU 401 determines whether or not“stationery-lightweight” is included in the “media-type-supported”,which is included in the capability information 710 of the printingapparatus 101. If “stationery-lightweight” is included, the processmoves to step S1005, and if not, the process moves to step S1006. Instep S1005, the CPU 401 adds “thin paper” to the selection screen 8300,and the process then moves to step S1006.

In step S1006, the CPU 401 determines whether or not“stationery-heavyweight” is included in the “media-type-supported”,which is included in the capability information 710 of the printingapparatus 101. If “stationery-heavyweight” is included, the processmoves to step S1007, and if not, the process ends. In step S1007, theCPU 401 adds “thick paper” to the selection screen 8300, and the processthen ends.

In this manner, the “automatic” selection item is always listed in theselection screen 8300 in addition to the supported sheet types listedusing the capability information of the printing apparatus 101. In otherwords, the “automatic” selection item is set by default, regardless ofwhether or not the capability information includes informationindicating “automatic”. For example, the difference between thecapability information 711 (Case 1) and 712 (Case 2) of the printingapparatus 101 indicated in FIGS. 7A-2 and 7A-3 is whether or not “auto”is included. However, the sheet type selection items displayed by theinformation processing apparatus when the capability information isreceived are both 8300, including “automatic”. The sheet type selectionitems displayed in the information processing apparatus when thecapability information 713 (Case 3) of the printing apparatus 101 isreceived are 8400, in which “automatic” and “plain paper” are displayed.Note that with Case 4 (714), “media-type-supported” is not present, andthus the sheet type settings item 8302 itself is not displayed. Once thecapability information of the printing apparatus 101 is interpreted andthe printing settings screen is displayed in this manner, the processreturns to step S907.

The descriptions will now return to FIGS. 9A and 9B. In step S907, theCPU 401 determines whether or not the print setting item has beenselected. If the item has been selected, the process moves to step S908,and if not, the process moves to step S909. In step S908, the CPU 401displays a settings change screen based on the selected print settingitem (e.g., 8301 or 8302) and changes to the input setting item, afterwhich the process moves to step S909.

In step S909, the CPU 401 determines whether or not a print button 8004has been selected. If the button has not been selected, the processmoves to step S917, and if the button has been selected, the processmoves to step S910. In step S910, the CPU 401 determines whether or notthe sheet type setting item 8302 is supported by the print settings. Ifthe printing apparatus 101 does not support sheet types, the processmoves to step S915 without the sheet type setting item 8302 beingdisplayed. If the sheet type settings are supported, the process movesto step S911.

In step S911, the CPU 401 determines whether or not the sheet type thatis set is “automatic”. The process moves to step S912 if the setting is“automatic”, and to step S914 if not. In step S914, the CPU 401 sets asheet type command corresponding to the selected sheet type in the jobticket, and the process then moves to step S915. The mapping between thesheet types and the commands is as illustrated in the aforementionedFIG. 12. For example, if “plain paper” has been selected, “stationery”is set in the job ticket, as indicated by Case A (721) in FIG. 7B.

However, in step S912, the CPU 401 determines whether or not theprinting apparatus 101 supports “auto” in “media-type-supported”. Theprocess moves to step S913 if “auto” is supported, and to step S915 ifnot. In step S913, the CPU 401 designates “auto” in the job ticket (CaseB (722)), and the process then moves to step S915. If “auto” is notsupported, the process moves to step S915 with no sheet type designationbeing made in the job ticket (Case C (723)).

Thus according to the present embodiment, “automatic” is alwaysdisplayed in the sheet type selection screen regardless of whether ornot the printing apparatus 101 supports “auto” in“media-type-supported”. As a result, even a printing apparatus 101 thatdoes not support “auto” can generate a job without a sheet typespecified.

Next, in step S915, the CPU 401 applies settings aside from the sheettype to the job ticket. Then, in step S916, the CPU 401 sends the printjob to the printing apparatus 101, and the process ends. On the otherhand, in step S917, the CPU 401 determines whether or not a cancelbutton 8003 has been selected; the process returns to step S901 if thebutton has not been selected, whereas the flowchart ends if the buttonhas been selected.

Processing Sequence by Printing Apparatus

A processing sequence carried out by the printing apparatus 101according to the present embodiment will be described next withreference to the flowchart in FIG. 11. This flowchart illustrates aprocess carried out when the printing apparatus 101 receives a printjob. Although the print settings are limited to the sheet type in theflowchart provided here, the configuration may be such that otherprocesses are actually included. The processing described hereinafter isrealized by, for example, the CPU 211 of the printing apparatus 101reading out control programs, which are stored in the ROM 212 or thestorage 214, into the RAM 213 and executing those programs.

In step S1101, the CPU 211 of the printing apparatus 101 determineswhether or not a print job has been received from an external device.The process moves to step S1102 if a job has been received. In stepS1102, the CPU 211 analyzes the received print data. Then, in stepS1103, the CPU 211 determines whether or not there are sheet typesettings. The process moves to step S1104 if there are sheet typesettings, and to step S1107 if not.

In step S1104, the CPU 211 determines whether or not the sheet type setin the job ticket is “auto”. If the sheet type is not “auto”, theprocess moves to step S1105, where the CPU 211 determines to print usingthe designated sheet type, after which the process moves to step S1108.For example, if “stationery” is designated as indicated by Case A (721)in FIG. 7B, the printing is carried out using plain paper. On the otherhand, if in step S1104 “auto” is designated, as indicated by Case A(722) in FIG. 7B, for example, the process moves to step S1106, wherethe CPU 211 determines to print using sheets fed in a cassette,regardless of the sheet type; the process then moves to step S1108. Instep S1106, the cassette in which the sheets used in printing are fed isa cassette set in advance. For example, the cassette set in advance maybe a cassette set by the user. If no sheets are fed in the cassette setin advance, the printing apparatus may carry out the printing usingsheets fed in a different cassette from the cassette set in advance.

However, if there is no sheet type designation in the job ticket in stepS1103, the process moves to step S1107, where the CPU 211 determines tosupply sheets using the default sheet type; the process then moves tostep S1108. The “default sheet type” is a value referred to when thereis no sheet type setting in the job ticket, and is set in the printingapparatus 101 in advance. The default sheet type can be set through userinputs made via the operation unit 216 of the printing apparatus 101,and FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a screen for that purpose. In adefault sheet type settings screen 1300, automatic 1301, plain paper1302, thin paper 1303, and thick paper 1304 can be designated as defaultvalues for the sheet type settings. In the example illustrated in FIG.13, “automatic” is set as the default sheet type, and thus the resultingoperation is one in which printing is carried out using the sheets fedin a sheet cassette, in the same manner as if “auto” was designated inthe job ticket.

In step S1108, the CPU 211 executes a printing process using thesupplied sheet, and the flowchart then ends.

As described thus far, the information processing apparatus according tothe present embodiment obtains the capability information of a printingapparatus capable of communication. Then, based on the obtainedcapability information, the information processing apparatus generatesand displays a printing settings screen for predetermined printing itemspertaining to the corresponding printing apparatus, the screen includingselection items in which automatic settings can be selected regardlessof whether or not the corresponding printing apparatus is capable ofautomatic settings. Additionally, the information processing apparatusgenerates print data of a print job to which the content of the settingsset through the printing settings screen has been applied, and sends thegenerated print data to the corresponding printing apparatus. Thusaccording to the present embodiment, the information processingapparatus displays the sheet type selection items in accordance with thecapability information of the printing apparatus 101. If “automatic” isselected, “auto” is designated in the job ticket, and the printing iscarried out using the sheets fed in the printing apparatus 101. On theother hand, even if the printing apparatus 101 does not support “auto(automatic settings)”, not designating the sheet type in the job ticketmakes it possible to print using the default sheet size of the printingapparatus. Printing can therefore be carried out using the sheet fed inthe printing apparatus 101, by designating “auto” for the default sheetsetting in advance.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the foregoingembodiment, and many variations are possible. For example, the foregoingembodiment describes control pertaining to the sheet type as the item inthe print settings. However, the present invention can be applied to avariety of setting items that can be included in automatic settings, aslong as they are print setting items. Such print setting items include“sheet size”, “collective printing”, “print orientation”, “destination”,“print quality”, “finishing processes”, and the like, for example. Thisvariation also applies to the second embodiment, which will be describedhereinafter.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below.The foregoing first embodiment describes control in which sheet typeoptions are displayed in the selection screen 8300 for selecting thesheet type, and printing is carried out using the sheets fed in theprinting apparatus 101.

If printing is carried out having selected “automatic” in the printingapparatus 101, the printing will be carried out using the default sheettype set in the printing apparatus 101. However, if the default sheettype is set to something aside from “auto”, a print error may arise dueto the mismatch with the type of sheet fed in the cassette. For example,there are situations where the default sheet type is “plain paper” butthe type of the sheet fed in the cassette is “thin paper”. The presentembodiment will describe processing for handling problems such as this,in which the default value for settings is switched in accordance withthe type of sheet fed in the printing apparatus 101 in the process bywhich an information processing apparatus generates a sheet selectionscreen.

Sheet Selection Screen Generation

Additional processing, according to the present embodiment, in theprocess for generating the sheet selection screen, carried out by theinformation processing apparatus in step S906 of FIG. 9A, will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 14. This flowchart is executed afterthe flowchart illustrated in FIG. 10. Note that aside from the processof step S906, the processing according to the present embodiment is thesame as the processing described in the first embodiment, and willtherefore not be described. The processing described hereinafter isrealized by, for example, the CPU 401 of the information processingapparatus reading out control programs, which are stored in the ROM 402or the storage 404, into the RAM 403 and executing those programs.

In step S1401, the CPU 401 of the information processing apparatusdetermines whether or not the printing apparatus 101 supports “auto”. If“auto” is supported, the process moves to step S1402, where the CPU 401sets the default value in the screen for selecting the sheet type to“automatic”, after which the process ends. 1501 in FIG. 15 indicates thesheet type selection screen in this case. It can be seen that thedefault value is “automatic”.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1401 that “auto” is notsupported, the process moves to step S1403. In step S1403, the CPU 401determines whether or not the type of sheet fed in the printingapparatus 101 can be obtained. This is done by determining whether ornot the printing apparatus supports the “media-col-ready” capabilityinformation for the sheet feed cassette, according to IPP. If“media-col-ready” is supported, the process moves to step S1404, wherethe CPU 401 checks the type of the sheets fed in the sheet feed cassetteand sets the default value to that sheet type, after which the processends. From the “media-col-ready” indicated by 715 in FIG. 7A-3, it canbe seen that “stationery-lightweight” (thin paper) is fed in the sheetfeed cassette, and thus the default value in the sheet type selectionscreen is set to thin paper. 1502 in FIG. 15 indicates the sheet typeselection screen in this case.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1403 that the type ofthe sheets fed in the printing apparatus 101 cannot be obtained, theprocess moves to step S1405. In step S1405, the CPU 401 sets the sheettype listed at the beginning of “media-type-supported”, obtained fromthe capability information of the printing apparatus 101, to the defaultfor the sheet type selection screen. If the capability information forCase 1 (711) in FIG. 7A-2 has been received, “auto” is at the start ofthe list, and thus the default value is set to “automatic” (1501 in FIG.15). However, if the capability information for Case 2 (712) in FIG.7A-3 has been received, “stationery” is at the start of the list, andthus the default value is set to “plain paper” (1503 in FIG. 15).

As described thus far, the information processing apparatus according tothe present embodiment switches the default value of a predeterminedprinting item displayed in the printing settings screen in accordancewith the capability information obtained from the printing apparatus.Because the information processing apparatus switches the default valuein the sheet selection screen in accordance with the capabilityinformation of the printing apparatus in this manner, the likelihood ofmismatches between the print job and the type of sheets fed in the sheetfeed cassette can be reduced. Predetermined print setting items cantherefore be set appropriately, and the print data of the print job canbe generated, regardless of the capabilities of the printing apparatus.

Third Embodiment

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below.Items that are the same as in the foregoing first and second embodimentswill not be described. Although the foregoing first embodiment describedan example in which options that always include “automatic” aredisplayed regardless of whether or not the printing apparatus supports“auto”, the present embodiment will describe control in which the optionfor “automatic” is not displayed when the capability information doesnot include “auto”. In other words, in the present embodiment, theoptions are displayed in accordance with the capability information ofthe printing apparatus. Thus according to the control of the presentembodiment, the “automatic” field is not added to 8400 in FIGS. 8 and1502 and 1503 in FIG. 15.

Screen Examples

Screen examples according to the present embodiment will be describedusing FIG. 8. Note that only areas that differ from the first embodimentwill be described. The selection screen 8300 is a screen displayed inthe touch panel 408 of the information processing apparatus 103 or 104when “media-type-supported” included in the capability information 710is as indicated in 711 of FIGS. 7A-1 and 7A-2. According to 711, “auto”,“stationery”, “stationery-lightweight”, and “stationery-heavyweight” aresupported. As such, “automatic”, “plain paper”, “thin paper”, and “thickpaper”, which correspond to that attribute information, are displayed inthe selection screen 8300. In the selection screen 8300, the user canchange the sheet type settings by selecting one of the displayed sheettype objects. The selection screen 8300 is for selecting a single sheettype, and a plurality of sheet types cannot be selected. The other sheettype selection screen 8400 is a screen displayed in the touch panel 408of the information processing apparatus 103 or 104 when“media-type-supported” included in the capability information 710 is asindicated in 713 of FIG. 7A-3. According to 713, only “stationery” issupported, and thus only “plain paper” is displayed in the selectionscreen 8400. FIG. 12 indicates mapping of the sheet type supportinformation communicated using the capability information 710 of theprinting apparatus 101, and sheet type names displayed in the sheet typeselection screens 8300 and 8400 in accordance therewith. 1201 indicatesvalues listed in the sheet type capability information“media-type-supported” communicated using the capability information710, and 1202 indicates the sheet type names displayed in the sheet typeselection screen 8300 in accordance with the communicated capabilityinformation. Specifically, the information processing apparatus displays“automatic” in the sheet type selection screen 8300 when “auto” has beencommunicated as the capability information, and displays “plain paper”in the selection screen 8300 when “stationery” has been communicated.“Thin paper” is displayed in the selection screen 8300 when“stationery-lightweight” has been communicated, and “thick paper” isdisplayed in the selection screen 8300 when “stationery-heavyweight” hasbeen communicated.

Processing Sequence by Information Processing Apparatus

A processing sequence carried out by the information processingapparatus according to the present embodiment will be described firstwith reference to the flowchart in FIGS. 16A and 16B. This flowchartillustrates a process leading up to the information processing apparatusdisplaying the printing settings screen 8000 and sending a print job.Although the print setting items that can be changed are limited to thesheet type in the flowchart provided here, the configuration may be suchthat other print setting items can actually be changed. The processingdescribed hereinafter is realized by, for example, the CPU 401 of theinformation processing apparatus reading out control programs, which arestored in the ROM 402 or the storage 404, into the RAM 403 and executingthose programs.

This flowchart is different from the flowchart in FIGS. 9A and 9B inthat step S906 has been replaced with the process of step S1601, and theprocess of step S912 has been removed. The following descriptions willfocus on these differences.

In step S905, the CPU 401 adds the sheet type setting item 3802 to thesettings screen 8200, and the process moves to step S1601. In stepS1601, the CPU 401 generates a sheet type list in the sheet typeselection screens (8300, 8400) displayed when the sheet type settingchange button 8303 has been selected, after which the process moves tostep S907. The items displayed in the sheet type list change dependingon the capability information of the printing apparatus 101. The processof step S1601 will be described in detail using the flowchart in FIG.17. The processing described hereinafter is realized by, for example,the CPU 401 of the information processing apparatus reading out controlprograms, which are stored in the ROM 402 or the storage 404, into theRAM 403 and executing those programs. Note that the descriptions givenhere will focus on the differences from the flowchart illustrated inFIG. 10.

In step S1700, the CPU 401 determines whether or not “auto” is includedin “media-type-supported”, which is included in the capabilityinformation 710 of the printing apparatus 101. The process of step S1001is executed if “auto” is included in the capability information, and theprocess of step S1002 is executed if not. In step S1001, the CPU 401adds “automatic” to the selection screen 8300, and the process thenmoves to step S1002. The following processes are the same as thosedescribed with reference to FIG. 10, and will therefore not be describedhere.

In this manner, the supported sheet types according to the capabilityinformation of the printing apparatus 101 are listed in the selectionscreen 8300. For example, the difference between the capabilityinformation 711 (Case 1) and 712 (Case 2) of the printing apparatus 101indicated in FIGS. 7A-2 and 7A-3 is whether or not “auto” is included.The sheet type selection items displayed by the information processingapparatus when the capability information 711 (Case 1), which includes“auto”, is received, are 8300, including “automatic”. The sheet typeselection items displayed by the information processing apparatus whenthe capability information 712 (Case 2), which does not include “auto”,is received, do not include “automatic”. The sheet type selection itemsdisplayed in the information processing apparatus when the capabilityinformation 713 (Case 3) of the printing apparatus 101 is received are8400, in which “plain paper” is displayed. Note that with Case 4 (714),“media-type-supported” is not present, and thus the sheet type settingsitem 8302 itself is not displayed. Once the capability information ofthe printing apparatus 101 is interpreted and the printing settingsscreen is displayed in this manner, the process returns to step S907.

The descriptions will now return to FIGS. 9A and 9B. The processing fromsteps S907 to S910 is the same as that described with reference to FIGS.9A and 9B, and will therefore not be described here.

In step S911, the CPU 401 determines whether or not the sheet type thatis set is “automatic”. The process moves to step S913 if the setting is“automatic”, and to step S914 if not. In step S914, the CPU 401 sets asheet type command corresponding to the selected sheet type in the jobticket, and the process then moves to step S915. The mapping between thesheet types and the commands is as illustrated in the aforementionedFIG. 12. For example, if “plain paper” has been selected, “stationery”is set in the job ticket, as indicated by Case A (721) in FIG. 7B.

However, if “automatic” is selected in step S911, the CPU 401 designates“auto” in the job ticket in step S913 (Case B (722)), after which theprocess moves to step S915. The subsequent processes are the same as inFIGS. 9A and 9B, and will therefore not be described.

As described thus far, the information processing apparatus according tothe present embodiment obtains the capability information of a printingapparatus capable of communication. Then, based on the obtainedcapability information, the information processing apparatus can changewhether or not to display a button for selecting “automatic”, for apredetermined printing item pertaining to the corresponding printingapparatus. Doing so makes it possible for the user to set “automatic”when the printing apparatus is capable of executing a processcorresponding to “automatic”. On the other hand, if the printingapparatus 101 cannot execute a process corresponding to “automatic”, asituation where the user selects “automatic” and causes an error can beprevented. Thus according to the present invention, predetermined printsetting items can be set appropriately, and the print data of the printjob can be generated, regardless of the capabilities of the printingapparatus.

Additionally, the information processing apparatus generates print dataof a print job to which the content of the settings set through theprinting settings screen has been applied, and sends the generated printdata to the corresponding printing apparatus. Thus according to thepresent embodiment, the information processing apparatus displays thesheet type selection items in accordance with the capability informationof the printing apparatus 101. If “automatic” is selected, “auto” isdesignated in the job ticket, and the printing is carried out using thesheets fed in the printing apparatus 101. On the other hand, even if theprinting apparatus 101 does not support “auto (automatic settings)”, notdesignating the sheet type in the job ticket makes it possible to printusing the default sheet size of the printing apparatus. Printing cantherefore be carried out using the sheet fed in the printing apparatus101, by designating “auto” for the default sheet setting in advance.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2019-009775 filed on Jan. 23, 2019 and Japanese Patent Application No.2019-169244 filed on Sep. 18, 2019, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus comprising: amemory device that stores a set of instructions; and at least oneprocessor that executes the set of instructions to: obtain capabilityinformation of a printing apparatus, wherein the capability informationis including a predetermined text and a sheet type that the printingapparatus can use in printing; display, in a display unit, a firstoption that the printing apparatus carries out printing for a sheet of aselected sheet type, based on the predetermined text included in thecapability information, and display a second option that the printingapparatus carries out printing for a sheet of the sheet type included inthe capability information based on the sheet type included in thecapability information; generate a print job including the option setthrough the screen; and send the generated print job to the printingapparatus.